The 2007 athletic season got underway at the Creek in soccer and volleyball with football beginning tomorrow. In the meantime, former cross country runners Kal Clark of Arizona State and Katy Trotter of Stanford were named as inaugural recipients of the Oroweat "healthy Minds" Postgraduate Scholarship - a $10,000 award bestowed upon individuals for their overall excellence in athletics, academics, service and commitment to graduate education.

Meanwhile, at NCAA HQ, swimmer Whitney Myers of Arizona was the conference's nominee for the 17th annual NCAA Woman of the Year award which honors exceptional female student athletes who have excelled in academics, athletics, community leadership and have completed their collegiate athletics eligibility.

Arizona

In football, tight end Brandyn McCall must quit playing football due to a back injury.

USC

In football, senior running back Chauncey Washington is expected to miss this weekend's season opener against Idaho with a shoulder injury.

In men's hoop, Dwayne Polee was hired as director of basketball operations and senior walk-on forward Reed Doucette has left the team to focus on academics.

Washington

In football, walk-on cornerback Cory Nicol quit the team due to a lingering groin injury.

In men's hoop, sophomore center Artem Wallace will not make the team's trip to Greece due to passport problems and the Huskies received a verbal commitment from point guard Abdul Gaddy.

Oregon

In women's hoop, the Ducks will get Oklahoma State/Colby Community College six-foot forward transfer Rita Kollo, however, Kollo will not be eligible, due to transfer rules, until next season.

Arizona State

In football, receiver Brandon Smith is expected to miss the season opener against San Jose State with an ankle injury as is center Thomas Altieri with a knee injury and the Sun Devils' September 15 game against San Diego State has been selected for television coverage by Fox Sports. Receiver Jarrell Barbour switched his commitment from Arizona to ASU and the Sun Devils also received an oral commitment from offensive lineman Zach Schlink.

WSU

In men's hoop, the 2007-08 schedule was finalized and the Cougars will be featuring non-conference games against Boise State, Air Force, Montana, Gonzaga, Baylor and The Citadel [in Seattle].

In football, the Cougars, as expected, finalized their 2008 schedule with the addition of Oklahoma State as an opponent for the Seattle game on August 30, 2008..

In soccer, Wazzu opened the 2007 season with a 4-0 exhibition win over Idaho.

In volleyball, the Cougars began the 2007 season undefeated with wins over Portland, Northern Colorado, South Dakota State and Idaho.

UCLA

In football, junior quarterback Patrick Cowan will miss the season opener against Stanford with a torn hamstring.

California

In men's swimming, David Durden was named as head coach.

Stanford

In football, sophomore Oklahoma center Chase Beeler has transferred to Stanford and will be eligible to play next season.

In volleyball, Oregon State stunned 10th-ranked Hawai'i with a 3-0 victory to move to 2-1 on the year.

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